The type of absorbent articles which consists of an absorbent pad and a belt to which the pad is detachably attached is well known in this field. Examples of this type of articles are disclosed in WO99/21522, WO94/26224, WO94/26222, WO94/26225 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,860.
When using a belted-article, the belt is first attached around the waist of the wearer and then the pad is attached to the belt. In particular, one end of the pad is attached to the belt on the front or back of the wearer and then the other end of the pad is pulled through between the legs of the wearer. Finally, the other end is attached to the belt on the back or front of the wearer.
The above belted-articles are often used for children or incontinent adults for absorption of bodily exudates, such as blood, urine, sweat and faeces. Therefore, the belted-articles will be in contact with the surroundings such as outer trousers or bedclothes. To avoid contamination or leakage, the connection between the absorbent pad and the belt is of importance. When the article moves relative to the surroundings, the attachment will be affected by the friction between the surroundings and the article as well as the materials of the pad and the belt. In particular, the attachment between the pad and the belt may be broken when the article moves relative to the surroundings.
WO 2001043672 A2 relates to an absorbent garment comprising a suspension sling (including an absorbent body) and a waist belt. The belt can be detachably attached to the suspension sling. It is also mentioned in connection to an alternative embodiment that the belt can be made from the same material as the back sheet of the suspension sling. However, WO 2001043672 A2 does not focus on friction and there is still a risk that the pad and the belt will be separated when the article interacts with the surroundings.
US 2004/0102749 A1 relates to absorbent articles comprising stretchable regions, wherein materials of the absorbent article which are in sliding contact with one another is prevented from sticking together. It is mentioned in US 2004/0102749 A1 that the problem is associated with disproportionately high difference in coefficients of the friction between said materials. Therefore, in US 2004/0102749 A1 the solution is achieved by minimizing the friction between said materials. It is stated that the coefficient of friction between the two materials in sliding contact with one another should not be greater than 0.4.
However, US 2004/0102749 A1 does not mention the friction between the article and the surroundings and the article is not a belted-article and can therefore not be attached to a separate belt.
US 2008/0114326 A1 relates to a disposable absorbent article configured to be placed on the body of a wearer to mimic swaddling characteristics. The disposable absorbent article may include a chassis having a tuck flap and two ears or side panels. US 2008/0114326 A1 shows that it is known to provide an absorbent article with ears made of the same material as the chassis. However, these ears are integral with the article, which is different from the belted-articles.
None of the articles in the prior art mentions the friction between the belted-article and the surroundings.